The Thoughtless Leader
Henning Schwinum
Helping growth-minded Founders, Owners & CEOs to grow their sales leadership capital by using our proprietary PerfectMatch? system to identify the ideal sales leader matched to their unique business requirements.
When a thought is defined as “an idea produced by thinking,” does that mean a Thoughtless Leader does not think?
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Many companies and many executives like to describe themselves as Thought Leaders. They want to be recognized as an authority in their field, as the one with the original thinking that others follow. I would argue that those true original thinkers are a very rare breed. Most Leaders do one of two things:?
-???????They did have a unique idea once; they did bring originality and change to their organization. However, the idea goes back years and has since been recycled and reclaimed many times, to the point that the idea has outlived its time.
-???????Most often, though, leaders are great listeners, readers, and learners. They take others’ thoughts that are relevant to their organization, develop a deep understanding, and then apply them successfully. A great skill, and not a Thoughtless Leader at all. For those Leaders, though, I would repeat Sangram Vajre’s advice, “never call yourself a Thought Leader.”
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On Glassdoor some company leader are labeled as “thoughtless.” Some of those that have left comments were likely thinking of synonyms like inconsiderate, uncaring, or stupid when describing a Thoughtless Leader. I am thinking more of someone that is unoriginal, a Leader whose words lack any sense of originality. And worse, they are directly regurgitating – repeating without analyzing or comprehending - what others have said before.?
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A Thoughtless Leader also lacks one of the most critical?leadership traits: Authenticity. Because real leadership is the exact opposite of regurgitation. Matthew Jones finds that “when spending time with … leaders, their genuine confidence in their thoughts and feelings helps you clarify your own. It's as if they model their decision-making process and, through doing so, reveal yours.”
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So, let’s call a spade a spade, the individual we have been talking about is not a Leader. Maybe we should call him a Regurgitating Person. “That’s exactly what I think” is probably this person’s most commonly used phrase.
Does that sound like someone you work with?
How can we help your organization to be thoughtful?
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1 年Good point Henning .. feel what is key is to have a POV that is grounded in experience/ research and/or data.
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1 年It's not for us to call ourselves a thought leader but for others to see us as that.
Sales and Marketing Leader
1 年Great read
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1 年It's an interesting question and point for sure, Henning Schwinum. Definitely worth a pause to consider many different types of leaders who embody "great listeners, readers, and learners. They take others’ thoughts that are relevant to their organization, develop a deep understanding, and then apply them successfully..." Engineering leaders, design leaders, productivity leaders -- or sales leaders. There's some kind of transition that converts an expert to a thought leader, right? Thought leadership is earned over time, similar to how reputation would be earned. It cannot be bought, it cannot be self-proclaimed... What's that transition?
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1 年Very good point Henning!!! I hate when people call themselves jargony terms. Let others do that. You focus on what makes you great!